Abstract Scope |
This research investigates the viability of pig fur biowaste in the synthesis of activated carbons (ACs) for cadmium adsorption in wastewater. In two different activation methods–in-situ and ex-situ activations–the effect of impregnation ratio, carbonization temperature, and time on the cadmium adsorption capacities of the two resulting ACs was investigated using the central composite design (CCD) of the response surface methodology (RSM). For the in-situ activation, the optimum conditions obtained were 691 oC, 175.11 min, and 1.784 g/g for carbonization temperature, time, and impregnation ratio, respectively, while for the ex-situ activation, the optimum conditions were 468.8 oC, 80.81 min, and 2.915 g/g. Although the different optimum conditions produced highly porous ACs with heterogeneous surfaces, the ex-situ-derived AC had a higher cadmium adsorption capacity of 92.85%, while the in-situ-derived AC had 90.355%. The ex-situ activation route is therefore a better activation method for this novel biomass precursor. |